
029 912 423 ft ^ 



Conservation Resources 
Lig-Free® Type I 






■ C93 96 

EEPOET 



PROJECTED IMPROVEMENT 



OF TIIE ESTATE OF 



THE COLLEGE OF CALIFORNIA, 



BERKELEY, NEAR OAKLAND. 



OLMSTED, VAITX & CO., 



LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS. 



Mew fork : 

Wm. C. Bryant & Co., Printers, 41 Nassau St., cor. Liberty. 



1866. 



-J1&1 



©k 



c 






REPORT. 



To the Reverend S. H. Willey; 

Chairman of Committee .' 
Sir; 

The portion of the estate of the College of California, for the 
improvement of which a plan is required, lies immediately below 
the steep declivities of the coast range, north and east of that which 
has already been laid out in rectangular blocks and streets, and sold 
in village house lots by the Trustees. JSTo change is proposed to 
be made in the existing public roads and streets, with which, there- 
fore, any improvements to be made are required to be conveniently 
associated. 

.When I first visited the ground at your request, it was proposed 
that the buildings to be erected for the Institution should be placed 
upon a site which looked down upon the surrounding country on 
every side except that which would be to their rear, and that the 
remainder of the property should be formed into a Park, for which 
it was desired that I should furnish a plan. 

After some preliminary study, I advised you that whatever advan- 
tages such an arrangement might have in a different climate and 
soil, it would in my judgment be inappropriate to your site and 
inconvenient to your purposes, while it would permanently entail 
burdensome expenses upon your institution. 

My objections to the original project having been deemed conclu 
sive, I was requested to review the whole question of the placing of 
the College buildings and the disposition to be made of the tract 
within which it had been determined that a situation for them 
should be selected. The general conclusions to which I was brought 
by this review having been verbally presented to your Committee, I 
was instructed to draft a plan in accordance with them. This I have 
done, and in the present report I have to show how this plan is 
adapted to serve the main purposes of your corporation, as well as 
some others of public interest 



The question as to the local circumstances that would be most favor- 
able to the attainment of the objects of a College, is mainly a ques- 
tion of adjustment between a suitable degree of seclusion and a suit- 
able degree of association with the active life of that part of the 
world not given to the pursuits of scholars. The organic error in this 
respect of the institutions of the middle ages and the barrenness of 
monastic study in the present day, is too apparent to be disregarded. 
Scholars should be prepared to lead, not to follow reluctantly after, 
the advancing line of civilization. To be qualified as leaders they 
must have an intelligent appreciation of and sympathy with the real 
life of civilization, and this can only be acquired through a familiarity 
with the higher and more characteristic forms in which it is devel- 
oped. For this reason it is desirable that scholars, at least during 
the period of life in which character is most easily moulded, should 
be surrounded by manifestations of refined domestic life, these being 
unquestionably the ripest and best fruits of civilization. It is a^sa 
desirable that they should be free to use at frequent intervals those 
opportunities of enjoying treasures of art which are generally found 
in large towns and seldom elsewhere. 

Such is the argument against a completely rural situation for a 
College. 

On the other hand, the heated, noisy life of a large town is obvi- 
ously not favorable to the formation of habits of methodical scholar- 
ship. 

The locality which you have selected is presumed to be judiciously 
chosen in respect to its proximity to San Francisco. Although it 
has the advantage of being close by a large town, however, the 
vicinity is nevertheless as yet not merely in a rural but a completely 
rustic and almost uninhabited condition, two small families of farmers 
only having an established home within half a mile of it. This is 
its chief defect, and the first requirement of a plan for its improve- 
ment is that it should present sufficient inducements to the formation 
of a neighborhood of refined and elegant homes in the immediate 
vicinity of the principal College buildings. 

The second requirement of a plan, is that, while presenting advan- 
tages for scholarly and domestic life, it shall not be calculated to 
draw noisy and disturbing commerce to the neighborhood, or any 
tiling else which would destroy its general tranquility. 

The third requirement of a plan is, that it shall admit of the 
erection of all the buildings, the need of which for college duties 
can be distinctly foreseen T in convenient and dignified positions.. 



and leave free a sufficient space of ground for such additional build- 
ings as experience may hereafter suggest, as well as for exercise 
grounds, gardens, &c. 

I proceed to a consideration of the means of meeting the first of 
these requirements. 

San Francisco is so situated with regard to the commercial demands 
of various bodies of the human race, that it may be adopted as one 
of the elements of the problem to be solved, that many men will gain 
wealth there, that the number of such men will be constantly in- 
creasing for a Ions: time to come, and that a large number of resi- 
dences will be needed for these suited to a family life in accordance 
with a high scale of civilized requirements. If these requirements 
can be more completely satisfied in the neighborhood of the college 
than elsewhere, it may be reasonably anticipated that it will eventu- 
ally be occupied by such a class as is desired. 

We have to consider then, what these requirements are, and 
Avhether, by any arrangements you can make or initiate, they may 
be provided for in an especially complete way, on the property 
which you have to dispose of. 

We shall gain but little light in this matter, by studying the prac- 
tice of those who have had it in their power to choose the circum- 
stances of their residence, the difference in this respect being very 
great, and leading t<» no clear, general conclusions. Some, for 
instance, as soon as they are able to withdraw from the active and 
regular pursuit of their business in towns, seem to have cared for 
nothing but to go far away from their friends, and to rid themselves 
of the refinements of life and the various civilized comforts to which 
they have been previously accustomed. Others can only make a 
choice among lofty structures, the windows of which look out on 
busy streets, so that the roar of toiling, pushing crowds, is never 
escaped from, while for any enjoyment of natural beauty, the occu- 
pants might as w r ell be confined in a prison. 

In England, the prevailing fashion of wealthy men for several 
centuries, has been to build great stacks of buildings, more nearly 
represented by some of our hotels, than anything else we have, 
and to place these in the most isolated positions possible, in the 
midst of large domains, with every sign of human surroundings not 
in a condition of servility or of friendly obligation to themselves, 
carefully obliterated or planted out. 

This fashion, growing as it doubtless has, out of a conservative dis- 



position in regard to feudal social forms, has also been frequently 
followed in a cheap and shabby -way by many in America, especially 
in the Southern States, yet no argument can be needed to show its 
utter inadaptation. even with profuse expenditure, to the commonest 
domestic requirements of our period of civilization. 

The incompleteness of all these arrangements is easily traced to 
the ordinary inclination of mankind to over-estimate the value of 
that which happens to have been difficult to obtain or to have seemed 
to be so, and to overlook the importance of things which are within 
comparatively easy reach. 

It is only by reference to some general rnle that will satisfy the 
common sense, that the comparative value of one or the other of the 
possible conditions of a residence can be safely estimated, so that 
those things which are essentially important, may not be sacrificed 
to matters which are of value only as they gratify a temporary per- 
sonal fancy or caprice of taste. 

Such a general rule may, I think, be stated as follows : 

The relative importance of the different provisions for human 
comfort that go to make up a residence is proportionate to the degree 
in which, ultimately, the health of the inmates is likely to be favor- 
ably influenced by each, whether through the facility it offers to the 
cheerful occupation of time and a healthful exercise of the faculties; 
or through any more direct and constant action. 

Every civilized home centres in an artificial shelter from the 
elements ; a contrivance to shut out rain, and wind and cold. But 
little judgment is required to make a shelter sufficiently large and 
effective. To accomplish this in a way that will be compatible with a 
due provision of sunlight and fresh air, however, is more difficult^ 
In fact, perfect shelter at all times and as free a supply of fresh air 
and sunlight as is desirable to be used by every human being at in- 
tervals, is impossible; Yet, as their use seems to be always free to 
the poorest and least intelligent of men, it seldom occurs to such as 
are intent on making good provision in other respects for the com- 
fort of their families, to take great care to make the use of sunlight 
and air easy and agreeable. I he consequence is that their houses are 
really no better in this respect than those of careless and indolent 
men ; often not as good, the advantages of the latter in this one par- 
ticular being sacrificed by the more prudent to more complete 
arrangements for accomplishing the primary purpose of shelter. 

More unhappiness probably arises from this cause, in houses which 



are in most respects luxuriously appointed, than from any other 
which can be clearly defined and guarded against. 

Attractive open-air apartments, so formed that they can be often 
occupied for hours at a time, with convenience and ease in 
every respect, without the interruption of ordinary occupations or 
difficulty of conversation, are indeed indispensable in the present 
state of society to the preservation of health and cheerfulness in 
families otherwise living in luxury. The inmates of houses which 
are well built and furnished in other respects, but in which such 
apartments are lacking, are almost certain, before many years, to be 
much troubled with languor, dullness of perceptions, nervous debil- 
ity or distinct nervous diseases. The effort to resist or overcome 
these tendencies, except by very inconvenient expedients, such as 
traveling abroad, or others of which it is impossible to make habit- 
ual use without a sacrifice of the most valuable domestic influences, 
leads to a disposition to indulge in unhealthy excitements, to de- 
praved imaginations and appetites, and frequently to habits of dissi- 
pation. 

It may be thought that this is a defect which, in most houses with 
private grounds about them, might be so easily remedied that it is 
hardly credible that I do not exaggerate the degree in which it mars 
the happiness of families who are so fortunate as to live out of the 
midst of towns. But it is a great mistake to suppose that it is a simple 
matter to make it convenient and agreeable, to delicate women 
especially, to spend much time healthfully in the open air. Lord 
Bacon, three hundred years ago, sagaciously observed : 

" God Almighty first planted a garden, and, indeed, it is the 
purest of human pleasures ; it is the greatest of refreshment to the 
spirits of man, without which buildings and palaces are but gross 
handiworks : and a man shall ever see that when ages grow to civility 
and elegance, men come to build stately sooner than to garden finely — 
as if gardening were the greater perfection" 

In the formation of country residences of the smallest pretensions 
far greater study and a far larger proportionate expenditure is gen- 
erally made in England, and in most countries where civilization has 
been long established, upon matters of out of door domestic conve- 
nience than in America. Yet the difficulties to be overcome and 
the need to overcome them, are incomparably greater in America, 
and especially in California, than in England. The truth is they are so 
great that they are commonly regarded as insurmountable, and a deli- 
berate effort to make sure that the out of door part of a residence shall 



be conveniently habitable and enjoyable is not thought oi. Ihe 
"garden" and " grounds " are regarded merely as ornamental ap- 
pendages of a house, marks of the social ambitions of the owner, 
like the plate and carpats within, rather than as essentials of 
health and comfort, like the beds and baths. Yet the frequent action 
of free sun-lighted air upon the lungs for a considerable space of 
time is unquestionably more important than the frequent washing of 
the skin with water or the perfection of nightly repose. 

Another class of civilized requirements frequently forgotten by 
men who have earned, by their skill and industry in providing for 
the wants of others, the right to live luxuriously, consists of those 
which can only be met by the services of numerous persons who are 
not members of the family requiring them, such] as purveyors of 
various articles of food and bodily refreshment ; artisans, musi- 
cians, nurses, seamstresses, and various occasional servants. (Physi- 
cians, teachers and clergymen might be added, but the absence of 
these from a neighborhood is less frequently overlooked.) Towns- 
people who have been accustomed to find those able to render such 
services always within ready call are particularly apt to neglect to 
consider how much of their comfort is dependent on this circumstance, 
and often discover it only after they have, by a large expenditure, 
made a home for themselves in which they are obliged to live in a 
state which, by comparison with their town life, seems one of almost 
savage privation. 

The first of the two classes of requirements to which I have re- 
ferred, it is obvious, can never be satisfactorily provided for in a 
town house, as towns are usually laid out. Hence, as statistics 
testify, families -living in such towns, except where habitual resort is 
had to parks or gardens, or to annual journeys in the country, con- 
stantly tend to increasing feebleness of constitution, and generally 
become extinct from this cause in a few generations. The second 
class can not be provided for in an isolated country house. Hence, 
in a great measure the frequency with which wealthy men who have 
spent enormous sums to provide themselves country houses abound- 
ing in luxury, are willing, after the experience of a few years, to dis- 
pose of them at great pecuniary sacrifice. 

It is true, that by great expenditure, many of the usual inconveni- 
ences and deprivations of a residence in the country may be made of 
small account,. But often it is found that with double the current 



expenditure in a country house of the most luxurious equipment, the 
same variety of civilized enjoyments can not be obtained as are to 
be had in town houses of a much more modest description. There 
are certain very desirable commodities, indeed, that very poor fami- 
lies can enjoy when living in or near large towns, that even the very 
rich commonly dispense with when they live in the country. These 
constitute a large part of the attractions which such towns have for 
poor and rich alike. 

There can be no question, that, as a general rule, people of easy 
circumstances, especially those who have the habits of townspeople, 
if they want to make the most of life, should not undertake to live 
where they will be necessarily dependent in any degree much greater 
than is usual in towns for the supply of their every day material 
requirements upon labor performed within their own walls, nor 
where they can be deprived at any time of year, much more than 
they would be in towns, of good roads and walks, and other advan- 
tages for exercise, and easy, cheerful use of whatever advantages 
there may be near them for social intercourse. Yet it is equally cer- 
tain that if they fail to secure fresh air in abundance, pleasant natural 
scenery, trees, flowers, birds, and, in short, all the essential advan- 
tages of a rural residence, they will possess but a meagre share of 
the reward which Providence offers in this world to the exercise of 
prudence, economy, and wise forecast. But if we are thus compelled 
to seek the site for a residence " out of town," and to take care that 
all effort to secure comfort in it is not exhausted in the plan of the 
mere house, or shelter from the elements, we must also remember 
that to keep extensive private grounds in good repair, and perfectly 
fresh and clean, requires more skill and labor, as well as administra- 
tive ability, than all the rest of the ordinary housekeeping affairs ot 
a moderate family. And as, unless they are so kept, extensive pri- 
vate grounds are not simply useless, but absolutely irksome, when 
associated with a family residence, and as it is hardly possible in 
America to maintain for any lengthened period a large body of 
efficient domestic servants, however extravagantly disposed a man 
may be in this particular, the folly of attempting to imitate the aris- 
tocratic English custom which has been referred to is evident. 

It may be laid down, then, as a rule, to which there will be but 

few exceptions, and these only in the case of families not only of 

very unusual wealth, but of quite exceptional tastes, that for the 

daily use of a family, no matter how rich, if the site be well chosen, 

2 



10 . 

and the surrounding circumstances are favorable, a space of private 
ground of many acres in extent, is entirely undesirable. 

If the surrounding circumstances are not favorable — if there are 
dirty roads, ugly buildings, noisy taverns, or the haunts of drunken 
or disorderly people near by, ground which it would otherwise be 
undesirable to hold may be wanted in which to plant them out of 
sight and hearing ; if the country in the neighborhood is not agree- 
able to walk, ride, or drive through, a large space may be wanted in 
which to form extended private walks, rides, and drives, which shall 
be artificially agreeable; if one's neighbors are of surly, hot-blooded, 
undisciplined, quarrelsome character, he will want to buy them out 
of their land in order to have them at a greater distance, and to be 
free from the danger of their return. If he is himself of an osten- 
tatious, romantic, and dramatic disposition, he may require, more 
than any other luxury, to have a large body of servile dependents 
about him, and may want to disguise the fact of his actual insignifi- 
cance among his neighbors by establishing his house at a distance 
from anything that he can not think of as belonging to himself or 
subordinate to his will. But the great majority of men who have 
the ability to gain or hold wealth in America come under neither 
of these heads, and in the choice of a place of residence will find it 
best, at the outset, to avoid, if they have the opportunity to do so, all 
such conditions as have been enumerated. 

A respectable college could not be established in any locality with- 
out bringing to it a certain amount of neighborhood advantages, 
while if it is not positively repellant to, it at least can have no direct 
attraction for, the more common constituents of a bad neighborhood, 
that is, for those things which every man must wish to keep at a great 
distance from his house. If, then, you can make your neighborhood 
positively attractive in other respects, especially if you can make it in 
important particulars more attractive than any other suburb of San 
Francisco, you can offer your land for sale, for villa residences, in 
lots of moderate size, with entire confidence that you will thus cause 
to grow up about it such a neighborhood as is most desirable, with 
reference to your first purpose. 

What, then, are the requisites (exterior to private ground) of 
an attractive neighborhood, besides good neighbors, and such insti- 
tutions as are tolerably sure to be established among good neighbors ? 
The most important, I believe, will be found in all cases to be that 
of good out-goings from the private grounds, whether with reference 



11 



to social visiting, or merely to the pleasure and healthfulness of oc- 
casional changes of scene, and more extended free movement than it 
is convenient to maintain the means of exercising within private 
grounds. 

For this purpose the common roads and walks of the immediate 
neighborhood, at all' times of the year, must be neither muddy nor 
dusty, nor rough, nor steep, nor excessively exposed to the heat of 
the sun or the fierceness of the wind. Just so far as they fail in any 
of these respects, whatever is beautiful in the neighborhood, what- 
ever is useful — churches, schools, and neighbors included — becomes 
in a certain degree disagreeable, and a source of discomfort and 
privation. No matter what a neighborhood may be in all other re- 
spects, therefore, if it fails in these it must be condemned as unfit 
for a civilized residence. It is folly to suppose that compensation 
for the ill-health and the vexations that will daily arise from a poor 
provision in this respect will be found in such other circumstances 
as a beautiful prospect from a house, or a rich soil, or springs of 
water or fine trees about it, or any other mere private or local pos- 
session, for the lack of these can generally be remedied in large 
degree by individual wisdom and expenditure, while the lack of 
good out-goings cannot. 

The desideratum of a residence next in importance will be points 
in the neighborhood at which there are scenes, either local or dis- 
tant, either natural or artificial, calculated to draw women out of 
their houses and private grounds, or which will at least form appar- 
ent objects before them when they go out. It will be all the better 
if many are likely to resort to these points, and they thus become 
social rendezvous of the neighborhood. 

Next to points at some distance from a house commanding beau- 
tiful views, it is desirable to be able to look out from the house itself 
upon an interesting distant scene. This is generally not too little 
but too much thought of, the location of many houses being deter- 
mined by regard for this circumstance alone, and things of far 
greater importance being sacrificed to it. It will be found that 
when this is the case — when, for instance, a house is placed in a 
lonely, bleak position, on the top of a hill difficult to ascend — the 
most charming prospect soon loses its attractiveness, and from asso- 
ciation with privation and fatigue becomes absolutely repulsive. 

Nor is it desirable that a fine distant view should be seen from 
all parts of the house, or of the grounds about it. This, indeed, is 
impossible, if the house and grounds are in themselves completclv 



12 



agreeable. The first and most essential condition of a home, is do- 
mestic seclusion. It is this which makes it home, the special be- 
longing of a family. If it is not attractive within itself, and chiefly 
and generally within itself, and made so by, or for the sake of, the 
family, it is no home, but merely a camp ; an expedient of barbar- 
ism made use of to serve a temporary purpose of a civilized fami- 
ly. Yet it is a good thing to be able at times, without going far, 
within or without the house, to take a seat from which, while in the 
midst of the comfort and freedom from anxiety of a home, a beau- 
tiful or interesting distant scene can be commanded. It is not de- 
sirable to have such a scene constantly before one. If within con- 
trol, it should be held only where it can be enjoyed under circum- 
stances favorable to sympathetic contemplation. 

The class of views most desirable thus to be had within easy reach, 
is probably that which will include all well balanced and complete 
landscapes. The general quality of the distant scene should be natural 
and tranquil, but in the details there should be something of human in- 
terest. Xo matter what the character of the distant outlook, however, 
it is always desirable that the line or space of division between that 
which is interior and essential to the home itself and that without 
which is looked upon from it, should be distinct and unmistakable. 
That is to say, whenever there is an open or distant view from a resi- 
dence, the grounds, constructions and plantations about the house 
should form a fitting foreground to that view, well defined, suitably 
proportioned, salient, elegant and finished. 

It may be observed that such an arrangement is not compatible 
with what some writers on landscape gardening have said of " appro- 
priation of ground ;" but it need hardly be argued that a man is 
going wrongly to work to make a home for himself when he begins 
by studying how he can make that appear to be a part of his home 
which is not so. 

Even if this appropriated ground were public ground, to look at it 
from a private house without seeing a well defined line of separation 
between it and the family property, or without a marked distinction 
of character between the two, in the details of the scenery, would be 
to have the family property made public rather than the public 
property made private. 

If it is desirable that the distinction between the character of the 
ground which forms a part of the home and of that which forms a 
pait of the neighborhood beyond the home, should be thus empha- 
sized, it is also desirable, and for a like reason, that there should be a 



13 



somewhat similar gradation between that which constitutes the neigh- 
borhood and that which is more distant. In other words, a neighbor- 
hood being desirable, the existence of a neighborhood should be obvi- 
ous, and for this reason the scenery which marks the neighborhood 
should be readily distinguishable. The view from the window or 
balcony should, in short, be artistically divisible into the three parts 
of; first, the home view or immediate foreground; second, the 
neighborhood view or middle distance, and third, the far outlook 
or background. Each one of these points should be so related to each 
other one as to enhance its distinctive beauty, and it will be fortu- 
nate if the whole should form a symmetrical, harmonious and com- 
plete landscape composition. 

Of these three desiderata, the first only can be supplied by private 
effort. A site for a residence, therefore, should be selected i if pos- 
sible, where the other two are found ready to hand. 

For the purpose of ascertaining what was necessary to be supplied 
upon your ground to give it the advantages which have been des- 
cribed, and others, generally recognized to be essential to a neiglp 
borhood of the best form of civilized homes ; 1 visited it under a 
variety of circumstances, in summer and winter, by night and by 
day, and I now propose to state what are its natural conditions ; 
what are the artificial conditions required, and how these may be 
best secured. 

First.— ^In respect of soil, exposure, natural foliage and water 
supply, your ground is, to say the least, unsurpassed in the vicinity 
of San Francisco. 

Second. — There are few if any suburbs which command as fine a 
distant prospect. The undulations of the ground and the difference 
of elevation between the upper and the lower parts give the ad- 
vantage of this prospect in its main features to a large number of 
points of view, so situated that the erection of buildings and the 
growth of trees at other points will be no interruption to it. 

Third. — With respect to climate and adaptation to out of door 
occupation, persons who had resided upon the ground or who had 
had frequent occasion to cross it, having stated that the sea-winds 
which nearly everywhere else near San Francisco are in summer ex- 
tremely harsh, chilling and disagreeable to all, and often very trying 
to delicate persons, were felt at this point very little, I gave this 
alleged advantage particular consideration. 



14 



During the month of August I spent ten days on the ground, 
usually coming from San Francisco in the morning and returning at 
night. The climate of San Francisco was at this time extremely 
disagreeable, -while that of the College property was as fine as possible. 
One morning, when I left San Francisco at nine o'clock, though the 
air was clear, a light but chilling north-west wind was blowing. The 
same wind, somewhat modified, prevailed at Oakland. At Berkeley 
the air was perfectly calm. Ascending the mountain side a few 
hundred feet, I again encountered the wind. Descending, it was 
lost, and the air remained calm until I left at five in the afternoon; 
the temperature being at the same time agreeably mild. During all 
the day I observed that San Francisco was enveloped in fog and that 
fog and smoke drifted rapidly from it over the bay and over Oak- 
land. At five o'clock, in returning to San Francisco, after driving 
two miles toward Oakland, I had need to put on my overcoat. In • 
the cabin of the ferry-boat, with doors closed, I saw women and 
children shivering, and heard the suggestion that the boat should be 
warmed in such weather. At San Francisco I found a blustering, 
damp wind and my friends sitting about a fire. The following day 
there was in the morning a pleasant, soft breeze at Berkeley, but 
late in the afternoon it fell to a complete calm. I determined to 
remain on the ground for the purpose of ascertaining whether this 
would continue or whether it preceded a change of temperature and 
a visit of the sea- wind after nio-ht-fall. At sunset the fog-clouds 
were rolling over the mountain tops back of San Francisco, gorge- 
ous in rosy and golden light ; the city itself was obscured by a 
drifting scud. At Berkeley the air remained perfectly serene, 
and, except for the fog-banks in the southwest, which soon became 
silvery and very beautiful in the moonlight, I never saw a clearer or 
brighter sky. It remained the same, the air being still of a delight- 
ful temperature, till morning, when the sun, rising over the moun- 
tains in the rear, gave a new glory to the constant clouds overhang- 
ing the heights on each side of the '' Golden Gate." Going back in 
the afternoon to San Francisco, I again found the temperature in 
contrast to that of Berkeley disagreeably chilling, though the day 
was considered there an uncommonly fine one and the wind was less 
severe than usual. 

I have visited the other suburbs of San Francisco and studied them 
with some care, and, without being able to express a definite estimate 
of the decree of difference between their climate and that of Berk- 



15 

eley, and without being able to assert from my limited observation, 
that the immunity of the hitter from the chilling sea-wind is abso- 
lutely complete and constant, I think that I am warranted in endorsing 
the opinion that the climate of Berkeley is distinguished for a pe- 
culiar serenity, cheerfulness and healthfullness. 

I know of no entirely satisfactory explanation of the fact. Bat it 
may be observed that it lies to the northward of the course of the 
northwest wind which draws through the Golden Gate and which 
sweeps the peninsula to the southward of the city and the Contra 
Costa country south of Oakland, and that there are to the northward 
and northwestward of it several spurs of the Monte Diabolo range, 
the form of which is calculated to deflect currents of air setting clown 
the bay from the northward. The form of the trees on the top of 
the nearest of these hills indicates an upward deflection of the north- 
erly wind. 

It will be seen that the natural advantages which led to the choice 
of the locality for the college, adapt it still more for a neighborhood 
of luxurious family residences. 

The disadvantages of the site, as compared with districts in other 
parts of the world, which are considered to be of choice character 
for rural or suburban residences, are those which are common to all 
the country near San Francisco, and most of these it possesses in less 
degree than any other I have seen, while, at the same time, there are 
in the local conditions, unusual advantages for overcoming them. 
If, therefore, these advantages are made use of in a large, bold and 
resolute way, the neighborhood will ultimately possess attractions, 
especially for those with whose memories of childhood the rural 
scenes of the Atlantic States, or of most of Northern Europe are 
associated, with which there will be nothing else to compare in the 
vicinity. I say this, not out of regard for the charm which such 
scenes would have from mere association with youthful pleasures, 
but for the fact that there is a real relationship of cause and effect 
between the conditions which are necessary to the elements of those 
scenes, and those which are required to contribute to the comfort of 
mankind. For instance, the ground will not often be found hard, 
nor harsh, nor sticky, and neither mud nor dnst will cause annoy- 
ance when a ramble is taken over surface all of which is either shel- 
tered by foliage, or covered with turf. Again, in a country of thick, 
umbrageous, pendulous woods, coppices and thickets, protection from 



10 

severe winds, and from the direct rays of the sun everywhere appears 
to be close at hand, and we feel less instinctively disinclined to 
venture forth freely in it. Moreover, when these elements of 
scenery are found in profusion, the scene before us, as we move in 
any direction, is constantly interrupted by the bodies of foliage, 
and re-arranged into new combinations and these often have a pro- 
portion and relation of parts which satisfies the requirements of an 
artistic instinct, and which, in a complete realization, constitutes 
what is technically termed a composition. For this reason, although 
it may not command our wonder, or any profound feeling, it gives 
promise of constant interest, and cheerfully influences the imagina- 
tion. There will be greater interest also, in the details of such 
scenery which must be closely observed, than in any other. Birds 
and flowers, for instance, will be more evenly distributed, over it, so 
that even in their absence, we never know that we may not. at the 
nest moment come upon them. 

But let any one go out into the country near San Francisco, in any 
direction, and he will rarely find his interest thus stimulated. At 
one season he will every where find abundant flowers, and in some 
of the gulches he may always find bushes and birds. Looking at the 
distant hills from a high position again, he may see a certain beauty 
of scenery, yet it can seldom be said that he has before him a com- 
pletely beautiful landscape ; probably never, in anyplace otherwise 
suitable for a home, and during any considerable part of the year. 
The nearer part of the natural landscape will nearly everywhere be 
coarse, rude, raw; grand or picturesque possibly, but never beautiful 
or appropriate to a home, Nor, however great the beauty, in cer- 
tain states of the atmosphere, of the distant hills and water, is there 
anything in nature which seems to invite or welcome one to ramble. 
The surface of the ground beyond the immediate foreground com- 
monly seems hard, bare, dead and bleak; what few trees there are 
appear stiff and rigid, and are as dull and monotonous in color as 
they are ungraceful in form. Even the atmosphere, when it is not 
foggy and chilly, is colorless and toneless. Only in the far distance 
is there any delicacy and softness. 

Thus, however grand it may be, and whatever interest it may 
possess, the region about San Francisco, is peculiarly destitute of 
what I may denominate domestic beauty, and of that kind of 
interest which is appropriate to domestic occupation. 

It would be audacious to suppose that even in a neighborhood of 



17 

a mile or two in extent, these defects could be completely remedied, 
or that they could be remedied in any notable degree in a very short 
time, or without much judiciously applied labor. But, if what is 
proposed to be accomplished, is modestly conceived, and the requisite 
effort is made and sustained for a sufficient period, it is unquestion- 
able that the more uninviting elements of the existing scenery may 
be reduced in importance, and its more attractive features presented 
to much greater advantage than they are under merely natural cir- 
cumstances, or under any artificial conditions yet in existence. It 
may also be confidently anticipated that the result will be peculiarly 
home-like and grateful in contrast to the ordinary aspect of the open 
country of California. 

For instance, if we imagine the greater part of your property to have 
passed in tracts of from two to five acres into the possession of men 
each of whom shall have formed, as a part of his private residence, 
a proper foreground of foliage to his own home outlook, it follows, 
from what I have before argued, that one of the chief defects of the 
scenery would be in a great degree remedied. For these bodies of 
rich and carefully nurtured foliage would form part of an artistic 
middle distance to all other points in the vicinity which would over- 
look them, and would so frame under the more distant prospect from 
these exterior points of view, that a strong gradation of aerial per- 
spective would occur, and the fact will be observed that if the range 
of the eye is but thus carried to a certain distance, especially to the 
westward or southward, the view is everywhere exceedingly beautiful, 
both in respect to the form of the hills and their beauty of color and 
tone, under all atmosperic conditions. Even in stormy weather, 
there is great grandeur in the movements of the clouds rolling over 
their sombre slopes and declivities, and I remember a single scene 
of this kind as one of the most impressive that I have ever wit- 
nessed. But on ordinary occasions the view to the westward, if the 
eye does not regard the dullness of the nearer part of the landscape, 
while it is one of great depth and breadth, is also one of peculiarly 
cheerful interest. 

The main requirements of a plan, then, for the improvement of this 
reoion, with reference to residences, must be, first, so to arrange the 
roads upon which private property will front as to secure the best 
practicable landscape effects from the largest number of points of 
view; second, so to arrange the roads and public ground as to give 
the owners of the private property satisfactory outgoings, in respect, 
first, to convenience of use ; second, to attractiveness in their borders; 



18 

and, third, to command of occasional distant views and complete 
landscapes. 

To meet the second of these requirements, the borders of the roads 
should be absolutely neat or even nice; there should be no raw 
banks or bare neglected looking places, nor drifts of rubbish by their 
side. 

This, in the climate of the locality, implies one of two things, 
either that the whole roadside is watered daily during several months 
of the year, or that it is closely lined and draped over with living 
foliage. 

The latter might be undesirable if there were pleasant open 
scenery along the road ; but where, as it must be supposed will be 
the case here, there will generally be within a distance of a hundred 
feet or more of the road, only a choice between a harsh, brown 
surface, as at present, or a private garden (it may be a vegetable 
garden), or a continuous grove, it will be the more agreeable as well 
as much the cheaper arrangement. 

1 can think of nothing to which the imagination turns with more 
eagerness in the bleak and open scenery, and the exceeding and all- 
pervading lightness of the day-light of California, than to memories of 
shady old lanes running through a close and overarching bowery of 
foliage, and such an ideal should be fixed before whoever is placed in 
charge of your improvements. Until the experiment has been tried 
on your soil, perfect success cannot be predicated, perhaps, with 
entire confidence, unless you should conclude to lay on water in such 
a way that it would be applied freely and without fail, by me- 
chanical action, to your road borders. That the ideal might be thus 
perfectly realized will be evident to any one who will follow up the 
water-course in the ravine a few rods below the Simpson House, near 
the point where a bridge is indicated on the plan. Here water stands 
near the surface of the ground during the entire summer, even when 
it disappears further down the arroya, and trees in the rear shade 
the undergrowth, which is consequently thick, intricate, luxuriant, 
rich, and graceful, completely sheltering the visitor from the sun, 
and all the ordinary untidiness of the surface of the ground is lost. 

But I do not suppose that any artificial application of water would 
be necessary on any of the ground where in the plan roads are 
laid down, to secure a high degree of the desired effect, if properly 
" selected shrubs are once well established on the soil and backed up 
with trees such as have already spontaneously grown in it, in many 
eases to good size. 



19 



The course of the roads, as laid down in the plan, generally fol- 
lows the natural depressions of the surface, and I am strongly of the 
opinion that in these situations, if not on the more elevated parts of 
all the ground included in the plan, there w r ould soon be a natural 
growth of trees and shrubs if perfect protection were secured for a 
few years from the action of fire and the close cropping of animals, 
and I can have no doubt that when the ground shall have been well 
trenched, nearly all the trees and shrubs which grow naturally in 
the more favored canons of the Coast Range, as well as many others, 
if planted and carefully tended for two or three years, would there- 
after grow healthfully, rapidly, and in graceful forms. 

It will be seen, by reference to the large drawing, that all the 
ground, not required for other purposes, is laid out in a number of 
divisions, varying in length and breadth, but each of such a form 
that it could be easily subdivided by simple lines into lots, each of 
one to five acres in extent, of suitable shape and favorably situated 
in all respects for a family home. The relative position of the houses 
erected, and trees grown upon the different lots, may be such that the 
best view from each site will remain not only uninterrupted, but 
rather improved by that below it. The divisions are separated one 
from the other by lanes bordered, as already explained, on each side 
by continuous thick groves, and access to each private lot from these 
lanes is arranged by short approaches branching from them. The 
area of ground contained in these divisions is 195 acres, (including 
nearly 90 acres belonging to private owners between the college 
property and the adjoining public roads), and might with advantage 
be occupied by from 50 to 100 private families. 

The lanes are arranged with reference to continuations to the 
northward and southward, should additional accommodation of the 
same character be hereafter found desirable. Connection is also made 
by shaded roads with the village already laid out in the vicinity, and 
a public garden, containing a children's playground, with a series of 
shaded walks and arbors about it, is provided for, adjoining this 
village. 

Between the garden and the village, a street is widened so as to 
form a small plaza or village market-place. 

There are three entrances to the series of lanes from the general di- 
rection of San Francisco. One of these is intended to be approached 
by a projected street railroad, and also by a direct avenue from the 
proposed steamboat landing at that point of the bay which is nearest 



20 

to the property. The second approach is through the midst of the 
village. The third is by a new road which I recommend should he 
laid out as a pleasure drive from Oakland. This road would be to 
the southward of, and run parallel with the present Telegraph road, 
until after it has passed the vicinity of the new Cemetery, where it 
would curve upon a long radius to the left, and passing to the east- 
ward of some of the lowest foot hills, cross the Telegragh road near 
the foot of the mountains, and approach Berkeley on a line parallel 
with the range, passing along the east side of the public garden, aud 
reaching the vicinity of the College without entering the village, as 
shown upon the plan. Such a road would form a drive much more 
attractive than any now in use out of Oakland, and would lay open a 
most desirable region for residences all along the foot of the 
mountains. 

One of the neighborhood lanes is extended eastwardly to the 
mouth of the valley or gorge in the mountains, which is a part of the 
property of the College, but which it would be inconvenient to show 
upon the drawing. This lane is intended to be extended up the 
gorge, first, however, crossing to the other side, not far beyond the 
point at which it terminates in the drawing. Thence it is intended 
to follow up the course of the brook as I have verbally explained to 
you, and as close upon its banks as is practicable, until the point is 
reached at which the branch enters from the left. There the lane 
should fork, being carried up the branch to the left with such curves 
as will be, necessary to reach the small table land at present occupied 
by a grazier's house. From this it would return on the left bank of 
the southerly branch of the stream to the main stem, crossing near 
the fork by a bridge. 

There should be a convenient stopping place for carriages upon 
the table land, from which a walk should be formed to the highest 
point of the knoll around which the lane passes. At this point there 
is a very interesting view through the gorge and out upon the bay, 
and it would be a suitable place for a small summer house or pavil- 
lion. The lane within the gorge would have to be formed by exca- 
vation in the hill side, and a thick plantation should be carefully es- 
tablished on the upper slope so as to confine attention to the damp 
ravine below and the opposite bank, which to a considerable height 
is abundantly covered with native foliage of a very beautiful char- 
acter. 

As this road follows a stream of water from the open landscape of 
the bay region into the midst of the mountains it offers a great 



21 



change ot scenery within a short distance, and will constitute a 
unique and most valuable appendage to the general local attractions 
of the neighborhood. 

The plan, as shown in the drawing, encroaches slightly upon the 
land which does not at present belong to your corporation, on the 
westward and northward, but you advised me to assume that you 
would be able to acquire possession of this land if desirable. 

The extent of the sylvan lanes which I have described, exclusive 
of the village streets, the avenue to the bay shore, and the road into 
the mountain gorge, would be about five miles. At several points 
upon them there would he very fine distant views, each having 
some distinctive advantage. The local scenery would also at 
many points be not only quite interesting, even without any effort 
to produce special effects by planting, but it would have consider- 
able variety, much more so than might be supposed from the draw- 
ing. The road is designed to be laid out in such a way as to make 
the most of the natural features, while preserving their completely 
sylvan and rural character, being carried with frequent curves in 
such a way as to make the best use of the picturesque banks of the 
arroyas and the existing trees upon them. These are sometimes al- 
lowed to divide it into two parts. Notwithstanding the varied curves 
which the arrangement involves, the general course of the lanes will 
be found simple and the connection between the more important 
points sufficiently direct. This is especially the case w T ith the ap- 
proaches to the College site from the points nearest it at which the 
neighborhood is entered. 

A tract of low, flat ground, 27 acres in extent, pleasantly sur- 
rounded on three sides by moderate elevations, two of which retire 
so as to form along bay or dell, is proposed to be formed into a small 
park or general pleasure ground. The site is naturally more moist, 
fertile and meadow-like than any other in the vicinity and a consider- 
able number of old and somewhat quaint and picturesque oaks are 
growing in a portion of it. This occurrence, with a thick growth of 
underwood and of rank, herbaceous plants, leads me to think that if 
it were thoroughly drained, cleaned and tilled, trees would naturally 
grow upou it in more umbrageous and elegant forms than elsewhere, 
and that turf could be more easily formed and maintained upon its 
surface. I recommend that it should be surrounded by a thick plan- 
tation similar to that proposed to be formed by the side of the lanes, 
and that in the front of this, trees should be planted singly and in 
small detached groups, as they are often seen in open pastures in the 



22 



East, while in the central portions of it a perfect living green sward 
should if possible be formed. 

For this purpose, after the thorough under drainage of all parts of 
the ground, it should be trench-plowed as deeply as possible, or 
trenched with a spade to the depth of two feet or more ; manure or 
rich loose soil being placed at the bottom. The surface should then 
be worked very fine and assorted grass seeds of the kinds which ex- 
perience in Oakland and San Francisco indicates to possess the most 
enduring vitality in the climate, should he sown very thickly — at the 
rate at least of three bushels to the acre. The surface should then be 
rolled with a heavy roller. As soon as the grass has grown to an average 
height of two inches, it should be mown and rolled again with a lawn 
machine, drawn by a horse with his feet muffled. The mowing and 
rolling should be repeated at intervals of from three to ten days, 
whenever the grass is growing fairly, and it should never be allowed 
to reach the height of three inches or to form seed. With this treat- 
ment it will probably form a firm sod which will remain green, 
soft and velvety during the greater part of the year. At the height 
of the dry season, however, it would, I presume, require daily water- 
ing, and for this purpose there should be a series of hydrants con • 
cealed in the shrubbery around it, and others at intervals in the 
midst of it, the latter being set entirely below the surface of the 
ground in cases covered with a small cap, hy lifting which the butt 
of the hose could be inserted. 

I would strongly urge that not the leasf ground should appear out- 
side of the necessary Avalks and roadway anywhere within your 
property, which can not be hidden from sight by the foliage of trees, 
shrubs or vines, except so much as you feel confident you can 
afford to treat in the manner which I have thus suggested. 
The expense of such a treatment is so great and it is so unlikely to 
be constantlv maintained through a Ions; series of years that I have 
reluctantly embodied any green sward at all in the plan. I am in- 
fluenced to do so, however, by regard not only for your original desire 
for a much larger extent of it than is now proposed but for the very 
great addition to the general beauty of the neighborhood, which 
would be gained by such an arrangement and by a consideration of 
the advantages which would come from it to the institution, by 
supplying a suitable field for athletic games and other agreeable 
exercises ; and the effect which it would thus have upon the health 
and spirits of the students and those who would be associated with 
them. 



23 

If this part of the plan should not be approved on account of the 
expense which would be required to properly carry it out, then 1 
would suggest that at least so much turf should be formed and kept 
as would be contained in the strip immediately in front of the central 
college building, in the line of the Golden Gate. Arrangements 
could be made by which this might be all sprinkled with very little 
labor. The remainder should be planted with trees, except an arena 
a little south and east of the centre, to be made perfectly level and 
used as a ball-ground. The whole of the ground not covered with 
turf should be very thoroughly cleaned by repeated plowings and 
harrowings, then covered with three or four inches of gravel from 
which sand and dust, as well as all particles laigef than a small olive, 
should have been removed by a double screening. This should be 
heavily rolled, and every spring afterwards it should be scurried, 
dressed with salt and again rolled until hard enough and smooth 
enough to be swept with a common corn-broom. It might, in this 
way, probably be kept clean enough for use, and, surrounded or over- 
hung by trees, it would not be offensive to the eye. 

A part of the ground (D) reserved for general college purposes on 
the high land to the eastward of the park may be used for a garden it 
required, or if the plan neither of a park nor of a glade of turf ex- 
tending to the westward, before the college site, should be approved, 
a garden would more appropriately occupy that position than private 
residences, or a road or walk with coppice border. A garden, how- 
ever, of the same extent, whether a scientific garden or an orna- 
mental flower garden, would be even more expensive to maintain 
than good turf, while it would add nothing like as much to the beauty 
and interest of the neighborhood and would be less directly liseful to 
your students. 

The main features of the plan have thus been sufficiently explained 
to show how it is intended to meet the principal requirement^ 
namely, to offer inducements which will draw about the College a 
neighborhood of refined and elegant homes. 

The second requirement of a plan was stated to be that, while pre- 
senting domestic attractions, the improvements proposed should not 
be of a character to draw about your college a noisy, disturbino- 
commerce, or anything calculated to destroy the general tranquillity 
of the neighborhood. It will be observed, that with reference to this 
requirement, while the roads are so laid out as to afford moderately 



24 



direct routes of communication between the different parts oi the 
neighborhood, they would be inconvenient to be followed for any 
purpose of business beyond the mere supplying of the wants of the 
neighborhood itself, — that is to say, it would be easier for any man 
wishing to convey merchandize from any point a short distance on 
one side of your neighboi hood to a point a short diatance on the 
other side, to go around it rather than go through it. As a further 
protection, when it shall be found necessary, the property may be 
enclosed and gates established at the entrances, so as to exclude from 
the lanes whatever it may be thought undesirable to admit. This 
precaution would probably be unnecessary, however, for many years 
to come. 

As you hare been unable to instruct me what college buildings 
should be introduced^ I have been obliged to trust to my own 
judgment of your probable requirements, and form a general building 
plan accordingly, taking care, however, that the area and the shape 
of the ground proposed to be reserved for the purpose, while fitted 
to such an arrangement as I conjecture will be satisfactory, should 
at the same time leave you with considerable freedom to vaiy from 
it; 

I have thought it best to assume that two considerable buildings 
would be required at an early period of the history of the college. 
One designed to contain its library, records, and scientific collections, 
and therefore constructed of brick, stone and iron, and as nearly fire- 
proof as you could afford to make it. The other to contain a general 
hall of assembly, and a series of class-rooms, lecture rooms, and 
rooms for the use of your faculty. 

"Whenever it should be found necessary in the future, to enlarge 
the library accommodations, the scientific collections might be re- 
moved to a new building, to be erected especially for that purpose, 
and the whole of the original building thus devoted to the library, or 
if less than this should be required, a smaller building might be erected 
for a special division, or for certain departments, of the scientific col- 
lections, as has been done at Amherst College, a single large building 
being there devoted to a special class of fossils, while the general 
geological collection remains in another. Whenever, also, the ac- 
commodations of the second building should be found insufficient, 
a new one may be erected for the purpose of general assembly, and 
the class-rooms be enlarged by the addition of the space occupied by 
the assembly hall in the original building. 

"With regard to dwellings for the students, my enquiries lead me 



to believe that the experience of eastern colleges is equally unfavor- 
able with regard to the old plan of large barracks and commons, 
and to the plan of trusting that the student will be properly accommo- 
dated with board and lodging by arrangements with private families 
or at hotels. Establishments seem likely to be finally preferred, 
in which buildings erected by the College will be used, having 
the general appearance of large domestic houses, and containing a 
respectably furnished drawing-room and dining-room for the com- 
mon use of the students, together with a sufficient number of private 
rooms to accommodate from twenty to forty lodgers. 

If a similar plan should be adopted at Berkeley, there need never 
be any very large buildings erected there in addition to the two cen- 
tral ones which have been proposed, and as it would be equally con- 
venient for all purposes, as far as I can see, and much more consist- 
ent with the character of scholarly and domestic seclusion, which it is 
desirable should pervade the neigborhood, I should contemplate the 
erection of no buildings for college purposes, whether large or small, 
except as detached structures, each designed by itself, and as would 
be found most convenient for the purpose to which it was to be devoted. 
In other words, I would propose to adopt a picturesque, rather than 
a formal and perfectly symmetrical arrangement, for the two reasons 
that such an arrangement would better harmonize artistically with 
the general character desired for the neighborhood, and that it would 
allow any enlargement or modification of the general plan of 
building at present adopted for the college, which may in the future 
be found desirable. 

I may observe that in the large Eastern colleges the original de- 
sign of arranging all the buildings of a growing institution in a 
symmetrical way has in every case proved impracticable and been 
given up, while so far as it has been carried out it is a cause of 
great inconvenience and perplexity to those at present concerned. 

With these views, having fixed a centre with which the different 
buildings to be hereafter erected as from time to time shall be found 
necessary, may be expected to have convenient connection, I pro- 
pose to reserve from sale for private residences, as much ground in 
the vicinity of this centre as is likely to be needed for all purposes 
by your corporation in future. 

The central buildings are intended to be placed upon an arti- 
ficial plateau at the head of the dell before described. This 
site, while moderately elevated, yet appears slightly embayed 
among the slopes of the hills on all sides except that toward the 



26 



park, over which the outlook to the westward is unconfined and 
reaches to the horizon of the ocean. The west front of this plateau 
is designed to take the form of an architectural terrace from which 
two broad walks between the lines of a formal avenue lead directly 
to the head of the dell in the park. At the foot of these walks ap- 
propriate entrances are provided from a carriage way. 

The general arrangement is shown more fully in a working plan 
drawn to a larger scale than the principal drawing. 

The construction of the necessary plateau upon the site proposed 
will not be an expensive undertaking as the working plan will show, 
and the terrace may be finished, if desired, very plainly and cheaply. 
At the same time the introduction of a high degree of art, at any 
time in the future, will be practicable, in the form of statues, fount- 
ains, and a highly decorated parapet with tile and marble pavement 
upon the terrace, and on each side of the broad-walks, the inter- 
mediate quadrangle and the stair and entrance ways. 

Respectfully, 

FEED. LAW OLMSTED. 
Olmsted, Vatjx S: Co., 

Landscape Arch itects. 

110 Beoadway, ) 

Xew Yoke, June 29th, 1S66. [ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ 

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029 912 423 fl # 



Conservation Resources 
Lig-Free® Type I 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

■■I 

029 912 423 A 



